Bo'ness Fair: Community set for return of a full Fair Day with all its traditions

Excitement is building in Bo’ness as the community prepares to host its first full-scale traditional Fair Day in two years.
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The 2022 Bo’ness Children’s Fair Festival is set to take place in just three weeks time, on Friday, June 24 with a full crowning ceremony in the town’s Glebe Park.

For the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organisers have been forced to host a small crowning ceremony behind closed doors due to government restrictions with events streamed online for the wider community to see.

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These smaller scale events took place in August for the last two years.

This summer's Bo'ness Fair looks set to return to its full traditions for the first time since 2019.  Picture: Michael Gillen.This summer's Bo'ness Fair looks set to return to its full traditions for the first time since 2019.  Picture: Michael Gillen.
This summer's Bo'ness Fair looks set to return to its full traditions for the first time since 2019. Picture: Michael Gillen.

However, the committee – and the town as a whole – are delighted the event is able to return in all its glory this year with all its traditions, and back to a date earlier in the summer.

The full ceremony will see Bo’ness Public Primary’s Aimee Gilchrist crowned as Fair Queen in front of the gathered crowd.

She will be taking over the role from Ellie Van Der Hoek.

Youngsters from the area’s primary schools will give their presentations before the traditional procession around the town, which will this year be led by Her Majesty’s Band of the Royal Marines.

Queen Elect Aimee Gilchrist will be crowned in Glebe Park when the full Fair Day returns on June 24, 2022.  Pic: Michael Gillen.Queen Elect Aimee Gilchrist will be crowned in Glebe Park when the full Fair Day returns on June 24, 2022.  Pic: Michael Gillen.
Queen Elect Aimee Gilchrist will be crowned in Glebe Park when the full Fair Day returns on June 24, 2022. Pic: Michael Gillen.
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Pamela Millar, whose husband Malcolm is an executive committee member who has worked tirelessly for 21 years serving the Fair with her by his side, will have the honour of crowning Queen Elect Aimee.

The themes for this year’s school presentations have also been revealed: Bo’ness Public – Beauty and the Beast; St Mary’s – Encanto; Deanburn – The Lion King; Kinneil – Aladdin and Grange – Grange in the Glebe. There will be no presentees from Blackness Primary this year.

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An earlier post on the Fair’s Facebook page states: “The Executive and Fundraising Committees would like to thank everyone who has continued to support us over the last two years when we have been unable to provide our usual Fair Day for the Bo’ness community.

"We are delighted that this year we will be able to stage a traditional Fair Day and are looking forward to seeing all the community join in the ‘best day of the year’ on June 24, 2022.”

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And it’s not just the Fair Day itself which is back this year.

The Fair E’en viewing of the arches around the town will take place on Thursday, June 23.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on the Fair – and many other community events – as not only did it stop the traditional celebrations taking place for two years, but it also stopped many of the fundraising events which are organised by the committee throughout the year.

The committee successfully received half of the necessary funding required to put on the Fair through Falkirk Council’s community grants scheme – with residents voting for which local organisations should receive a share of the available funding in each council ward.

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And now restrictions have eased, further fundraising has been able to begin again.

In April, the annual Fair Appeals Week returned after a two year absence, but instead of the usual door to door collection, envelopes that could be handed in to local collection points were delivered to homes and an online donations page was set up for people to show their support for the event.